Field
Embodiments of the invention generally relate to network traffic monitoring, analysis, and/or reporting. More particularly, some embodiments are directed to methods, systems, and computer programs for node de-duplication of physical nodes monitored by a network monitoring system, for example.
Description of the Related Art
Network management includes activities, methods, procedures, and tools related to the operation, administration, maintenance, and/or provisioning of networked systems. Functions that can be performed as part of network management may include, for example, planning, controlling, deploying, allocating, coordinating, and monitoring the resources of a network. Further functions may be related to network planning, frequency allocation, load balancing, configuration management, fault management, security management, performance management, bandwidth management, route analytics, and accounting management.
As mentioned above, a subset of network management includes network monitoring of network traffic. Network traffic data is of interest to network administrators for a number of reasons, including analyzing the impact of a new application on the network, troubleshooting network pain points, detecting slow or failing network devices, detecting heavy users of bandwidth, and securing networks. Various protocols for network traffic flow data have been developed. These protocols can contain numerous types of information, such as source internet protocol (IP) address, destination IP address, source port, destination port, IP protocol, ingress interface, IP Type of Service, start and finish times, number of bytes, and next hop.
As networks become larger and more complex, systems that monitor, analyze, and report on traffic flow data must become more efficient at handling the increasing number of network devices and amount of information generated about network traffic.